Pieces: Temptation
by deadly maelstrom
Summary: Even after defeating Xehanort, there are still challenges Sora must face. Old forces must be revived. However, new forces from the Realm of Dawn arrive that make things even harder. With them they bring powers known as Pieces and temptation. Post KHIII
1. Loose Ends

_**Wuz up! For those wondering, this is a re-write of 'Pieces.' For those who don't care now you know. Either way, after some feed I came to the conclusion that the story was rush so going to be writing a prologue first meaning I've got eleven chapters stocked and ready. Enjoy!**_

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><p><strong>Prologue One<strong>

"**Loose Ends"**

The heart, what is the heart? Is it the force the guides humans to their dreams? It could be a weapon. Maybe it is a figment of imagination. These are questions that have plagued the worlds since the beginning. Countless men tried to find the answer; however, all they found was destruction. Heartless, those who were consumed by darkness; Nobodies, the empty shells left behind by the consumed; Unversed, the culmination of man's negative emotions; the more man sought to understand the heart the more of these beings were brought into the worlds.

The weapon that could create balance in the world, the Keyblade, chooses its wielder. Countless wielders have come and gone but, in this day and age five still stood. One of them ruled over his kingdom to maintain its peace. Another watched the worlds from his tower making sure the balance was stable.

Three of them lived peacefully on their islands. For a year and a half they had been fighting the man who sought to destroy the balance of the world: Xehanort. Despite the countless hardships and battles they finally stood victorious. One of them, Sora, sat on the beach looking at the sea with his blue eyes. The warm ocean breeze blew through his brown spiky hair. As far as he was concerned only few things were left to end the adventures he had. However, it was fairly obvious that he was not going to get them easily. The story went back almost eleven and a half years to the time when the entire battle first had begun. His goal was to locate and restore three wielders one of whom he shared a piece of. The first thing he had to do was find the other piece.

"_Are you sure this is going to work?_" A voice said in the back of his head. In a flash golden light the voice appeared. A blond boy with equally blue eyes transparently sat next to him.

"Roxas, why wouldn't this work?" Sora asked looking at the blond.

"There's particular reason it wouldn't. We just can't say for sure." Roxas replied. "Besides, how do you know Vanitas will even cooperate? He sounds like a pretty bad guy."

"Yeah well, if he doesn't cooperate we'll just make him." Sora said with a smile. He relaxed his muscles and closed his eyes listening to ocean breeze. Steadying his breathing looked into the depths of heart searching for someone. He fell into an abyss slowly drifting down into nothing. Then something came into view. A stain glassed image of his younger self gave him a foot hold stopping him. Along with his own image his friends as the Keyblade were visible.

Sora looked around and spoke. "Hey, Ventus, can you hear me?" His voice echoed in the empty abyss repeating the words verbatim.

A small orb of light rose from the center of the platform. "Sora…" It said softly.

"If we're going fully recover your heart, we need all it, even the parts you'd rather not have." He explained.

Ventus remained silent for a moment recalling the events from years past. "I understand. Besides, if I beat Vanitas once, I can do it again." His voice was filled with confidence as he floated to Sora. "Take me into your hand. To catch Vanitas, we need to find what's left him. I can feel it. He used what little power he had left to escape to a place with a high concentration of negative emotions and hid himself inside of someone to recover. It's a surprise he hasn't made a move yet. I'll see if I locate him and send your consciousness there."

"And I'll make sure to bring him back with me." Sora reached out and grabbed Ventus. For a moment Sora felt like he was flying over the ocean. Then he curved skyward and into the atmosphere. It was not long before he reached space. It was blue with auroras floating around it. Countless worlds dotted the sky and passed by Sora as he sped through the vast field.

However, something strange occurred during his trip. His consciousness felt heavy resistance as space seemed to warp around him. Sora pushed and pushed until finally the barrier gave way. What Sora saw then puzzled him greatly. Rather than the deep blue he was accustomed to, he saw empty blackness. Stars dotted his view as he weaved through space. Rather than worlds with visible details, he saw large planets no noticeable traits beyond a major color. He passed by the gas giants known as stars without feeling any heat being but a mere shadow. It was all new to him. He could not help but to wonder if something gone wrong during the transfer.

After what felt like an hour of ceaseless travel Sora finally closed in on an ocean covered planet. He entered its atmosphere almost shouting in glee that his journey might be coming to an end. It was not long before he reached a city. He was shocked at the sight. The technology it had was astounding to him. The city was lit up brightly with countless lights and attractions. Strangely, everything was still as though time had come to a completely stop. His consciousness passed through buildings as though they were not there. Eventually he reached a boy with dark skin, dreadlocks, and forest green eyes. A pair of headphones was around his neck. The boy was laughing with his friends apparently having a good time. He was the one Sora entered.

Sora found himself on a stain glass pathway that lead into a black abyss. At first he hesitated but then followed it having nowhere else to go. It seemed like the path went nowhere at first since all Sora could see was pitch blackness at the end. But Sora walked on realizing that his target was probably at the end. Slowly his sense of time drifted away in the emptiness. He began to wonder how long he had been in there: minutes, hours, days: it all seemed to escape his mind.

After what felt an eternity, the path began to widen. That's when Sora was able to have a visual on his goal. He began to run following the ever widening stain glass until he reached another platform. He looked and saw what almost a mirror. The face was perfectly identically to his own with the exception of amber eyes rather than blue. The mirror's hair was black instead of brown. From the neck down he was cocooned in black chains that hung from the abyss. "Well, it's been about for two months since I've had visitor. To what do I owe the pleasure, Sora?" He said in mocking tone.

"Vanitas…" Sora said quietly. "I want come with me to help restore Ventus."

Vanitas laughed. Despite being trapped he was thoroughly amused by Sora's request. "Restore Ventus! Are you bullshitting me or what? Why in this or any world would ever want to restore with that bastard? Screw the X-blade. The only thing I'd do if I got out of here is tear him and everything else apart." Vanitas's laughter ceased as thought for a moment and sighed. "That is _if_ I ever get of here."

"What do mean by that?" Sora inquired.

"You heard me. This kid's heart is an impenetrable fortress. As you can plainly see I'm thoroughly tied up. This seal strong enough to hold all of my power in. I can't even summon the Keyblade."

"I'm sure if I just talk to the guy he'll listen to reason."

Vanitas laughed again this time even harder than before. "Who do think this kid is? 'Listen to reason,' are you crazy? He's only fourteen but, he more powerful than me. Hell, he might even be as strong Xehanort if not stronger. The nanosecond he realizes you're down here, he'll tear you apart himself. He's a freaking demon child. Just watching this kid makes being stuck in here less annoying. At least in here I keep my own existence."

"Really, I'd think you'd rather be on the outside doing this yourself instead of having someone do it for you."

"Do it for me? Please this kid already killed thousands on his own terms. He doesn't need me for that. And from the looks of things, you're next."

Sora turned around and saw the blade of a black katana in his face. The boy was holding it in one hand while a smile was planted on his face. "You know, intelligent people would run like hell when they realize their mission was a bust. So, why are you still here, Ventus? Or, is it Sora? I really don't care."

"It's Sora. What's your name?"

"That's none of your business." The boy replied. "But tell me something, why the hell are you in my heart?"

"I came to take him. You see, my friend Ventus…"

"Man, you _really_ don't know how to see through people." The boy walked around Sora but, kept his blade at the neck. "I know about Ventus and Aqua and Terra and how you want to bring them back. Problem is you need my help to do that." He stepped back and tapped his blade on his shoulder. "Tell ya what, I'll consider helping help you, Naminé and all your other friends…" The boy swung his blade creating a gust that sent Sora flying into the darkness. "…if you can find me in person!"

In less than a second after losing sight of the boy and Vanitas, Sora found himself slammed back into his body. His breathing was heavy causing him to clutch his chest in shock. "Sora, what happened?" Roxas asked.

"I found him, sort of…"

**Pieces**

"Where the hell am I?" A girl walking the streets of the main island said to herself biting her thumb. Her long dark brown hair was covered by a blue sun hat that also shielded her pink eyes. She warily walked around the town watching and observing everything. They spoke her language but, she had no idea where she was. She pulled out her cell phone and grimaced at screen. "No reception, that's just great." She fingered the touched screen and saw her resources. "My apps are still work but, what I need is a cell phone tower. What kind of back water planet is this?" She pondered.

The girl snarled in anger as she thought about her predicament. "When I find the bastards who sent me here I'm gonna…" She bumped into somebody. She looked up and saw tan skinned boy with orange hair that came up to one point at the edge of his hairline. Compared to him she looked really small. "Sorry about that."

"It's no problem, ya." He said backing up. He smiled and said. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"Nope, I'm from another island." She came up with a quick lie. "I'm visiting some relatives but got lost on the way to the ferry back. Name's Maria."

"Wakka, and that's not what I meant." He said. "You're from another world, aren't you?" He said in a whisper.

"What are talking about?" Maria said feigning a frantic look. "_I might be able to get some information out of this guy._"

"Don't worry. Sora told me couple of our friends everything about that Xehanort guy and the Keyblade. You can trust us."

"Hey Wakka!" Another voice came from behind. A boy with dirty blond hair ran up carrying a white and blue ball. Behind him was girl with brown that rolled up before falling past her neck. "We were about head over to the other island. Wanna come?"

"Of course." Wakka said with a smile. "Say can she come too? She wanted to meet Sora so…"

"You mean that girl with cell phone?" The blond said.

"Sora's the strongest in the area, right?" Maria asked waving her phone in various directions. This action attracted some attention from people who passed

"Uh, yeah I guess." The girl said. "Why does that matter?"

She stopped focusing on area in particular. The area was the island that Sora was on. "Well then, I suppose I'll be on my way. I've got something important to do on that island."

"Hey," The blond said. "We're offering you ride there. Don't you think it's kinda rude to blow us off like that?"

"Please, the day I blow you off is the day the world comes to end." She taunted.

"And what's that supposed to mean." He said with a red face.

"Tidus, calm down." The brunette said to the blond.

"No way, Selphie!" Tidus walked up to Maria with anger in his eyes. "I bet throwing you into the ocean will teach you some manners."

"Tidus…" Wakka said warily.

"How about I throw a building into the ocean." Maria said stretching her arms over her head. "With you three in it of course."

**Pieces**

Sora sat on a curved palm tree looking out into ocean. Next to him sat a red headed girl with blue eyes: Kairi. Another boy was leaning against the tree. He had long silver hair and aquamarine eyes that were partially covered by his bangs: Riku. "And that's what happened." He finished explaining his encounter with Vanitas and the boy.

"Well isn't that great." Riku said with a faint grin. "The biggest problem is that we have no idea where this kid is."

"Isn't there some way to track him?" Kairi asked. "I mean, you were able to talk him like that. How far away could he be?"

Sora thought about that for moment. At first he knew where had been but, after that road block he was completely lost. It was a totally new sight to him. He pondered about it for a moment to the conclusion of, "Pretty far away, I guess." He said with a smile.

"Well, that helps." Riku said sarcastically. He looked out at the ocean and squinted his eyes.

"You see something, Riku?" Sora asked looking out as well. At first there was a speck coming from the main island. That speck grew into dot. The dot became a flipping mushroom. The mushroom became a building with a hunk of earth attached to the bottom. Said building and land flew into the blue ocean creating a giant waved that drenched the three on the island and left the sand darkened.

Riku, Kairi, and Sora stood there in utter confusion as Wakka, Tidus, and Selphie pop out of the disturbed ocean. They dragged themselves onto the sand fully clothed and dripping wet. Tidus grabbed Sora by the collar and started babbling, "Girl; phone; building; lasers; arms; throw; it was crazy!"

"Calm down." Sora said removing Tidus from his black jacket. "From the beginning, what happened?"

"Okay, where to start…" Wakka said as he rung out his orange shirt. "Okay, this girl with brown hair and a blue hat bumped into to me over on the main island. She spilled to me she was another world." Sora grimaced at hearing that. He had hoped his fight was over. "Then these two showed up and she asked if you were the strongest on the islands. Then Tidus got mad for being ignored; she said something that made him even madder. That's when things got weird. First threw us into that vacant building on Elis Street. After that she fired some kind of laser from her finger tips, wrapped these magenta arms around the building then chucked it."

"You're kidding, right?" Riku asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I wish I was makin' this up." Wakka replied. "Did you not see the flying building?"

"Anyway, let's go find this girl and end this quickly." Riku said. "I'd like to get back to relaxing."

"Oh, that won't be necessary." All six of them looked up. Maria was above them standing on what seemed to be nothing. Whatever it was under her ceased to exist and let her fall to the sand. She dusted off her hat, placed it on her head and smiled. "Which one of you is Hoshi?"

"Huh…" was general consensus to her question.

"Okay, let me rephrase that. Which one of you is strongest?" She looked at the three Keyblade wielders.

Sora stepped up and summoned the Kingdom Key into existence. It resembled an old fashioned key with a mouse charm dangling from the handle. "That would be me."

Maria's smile grew wider as she looked at the weapon. She covered her mouth a bit before breaking into a full on fit laughter. "You're seriously trying to threaten me with a giant key!" She continued laughing as Sora and the others looked. Her reaction was a first. "But since we're making threats, did you know that palm trees can withstand hurricane force winds."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Riku asked.

"Observe." Maria walked over to a palm tree and tapped it with her arm. She reeled her right leg back and threw one quick kick. The tree bent sharply with its leaves almost touching before it violent snapped and flew into the air. The bottom half remained in the ground. Sora and his friends watched the top half fly through the air and land a good ten feet away from the base. "That's how you make a threat. So I suggest you start talking if you don't want that to be one of your heads." Maria took of her hat and pulled a strange blue crystal that was in the shape of a five point star from it before placing back on. One of the points seemed to have broken out from green circle on the inside of the crystal. "Since you've traveled to other 'worlds,' as you call them, you should recognize this."

"It's called a Star Shard." Riku said. "But how the hell did you get it?"

"I stole it. That's all you need to know. Next question: what does it do?"

"I'm really sick of this." Riku said. He summoned his own Way to Dawn Keyblade and prepared to fight. A red hilt with two wings: one of an angel and the other of a demon on either side of it. The demonic wing connected to a much larger one. Protruding out of the large wing was a small angel's wing spread open ready to fly. At the hilt's bottom was a silver chain with a black heart outline with red and a tri-point attached. "If you wanna know so badly, then make us tell you." Riku raised the weapon in one hand and pointed it straight at Maria.

"Fine by me." In a second she vanished from sight. Riku felt the heel of her foot collide his back before he rolled across the sand. He recovered quickly and saw that Maria had managed to get behind him. Sora swung the Keyblade and missed due Maria jumping on the blade and forcing it into the sand. She delivered a kick to the stomach that caused Sora to release his grip on the weapon and stagger back. Maria took the opening and delivered a right hook to Sora's face sending him flying over the sand. "Bye-bye, Hoshi."

"Don't forget I'm here too." Kairi had summoned her own Keyblade Destiny's Embrace. In her hand there was teal colored hilt of a sword. Attached to at the top it was a long shaft, yellow at the bottom but change to red at the top giving it the appearance of the sunset; the bottom had a red ribbon with a star shaped fruit at the end. On one side of the teal hilt there was what appeared to be crashing waves. On the other side there was vine that curved out like the waves but when it returned to the hilt it crawled up the shaft. When the vine nearly the top it left the shaft and turn into a bouquet of multi colored flowers.

"Kairi, get out of here!" Sora shouted as he stood up. He wiped some blood from his mouth as he looked at Maria. She looked completely baffled.

"_What's with this guy? She has the most magical energy here. Shouldn't he be the one running?_" Maria pondered. She took one step that did the work of a hundred ending up by Sora in an instant. She grabbed Sora by the collar and threw him over to where Kairi was. Riku thrust his weapon at her but was dodged, grabbed by the back of the head and forced into Maria's knee. "_That oughtta do it._"

Riku caught some blood in his hands as he came to the assumption that his nose had been broken. "Y'know, common strategy is to attack the queen before anything else." Maria said as she gripped the Star Shard tight in her left hand and she stepped leaving Riku with a cloud of sand. Sora stepped in front of Kairi and braced for nothing. Before contact was made the Star Shard began to glow catching Maria's attention. She herself burst into light began fly around the sky uncontrollably. "Hey, you piece of shit! Put me down!" She shouted before disappearing into the sky.

"Guess she knows what it does now." Riku said having confirmed that his nose was not broken. Kairi was giving a frustrated look. "Uh, yeah…"

"What was that about?" Kairi asked looking at Sora. "I have a Keyblade too or is it because I'm not 'Master Kairi' like you and Riku?"

"Kairi…" Sora said. "It's just that, I don't want you to get hurt as all."

"We're just gonna go over here, ya." Wakka said pushing Tidus and Selphie.

"Aw, but I wanna see this." Selphie complained.

"Move it." Wakka gritted his teeth.

"If you don't want me to get hurt then train me properly. Enough of these low level spells to shut me up; teach me how to fight for real if you're that concerned!" Kairi touched the fist shaped bruise that had appeared on Sora's cheek. "Seeing you get hurt worries me as much as it worries you."

Riku smiled at the scene and reminisced about his adventures. There was a part him that was disappointed that they were coming to end for most part. After they restored Ventus and solved the Maria issue that would be it. Kairi on the hand would be a different story. On the first of January, which was three days from then, she would return to her home world of Radiant Garden as its princess. It took every argument they had just to hold her that long but, that time would come to an end soon.

Riku did not particularly like the ones who advocated for her return. It was mostly powerful nobles who wanted nothing but to make more money for themselves and saw Kairi as a puppet. Naturally, they wanted one of their own family members to marry Kairi which vexed Riku and Sora to no end. What concerned them more so than that was how Kairi felt. It was painfully obvious she did not want to go. However, it was clear that there was not much of a choice. After Xehanort's defeat, Radiant Garden re-organized its military and was prepared to use force to bring Kairi if necessary.

Was this truly destiny at work? Riku couldn't help but to wonder as looked out into the setting sun. It all felt strange to him. Everything that had happened to him, Ansem, Xemnas, Xehanort, had come to an end. In way he was glad it was all almost over. But, something bothered him. He had this weird feeling in heart. Was it the part of him that wished it weren't over? Or was a gut feeling telling him it wasn't over.

**Pieces**

Master Yen Sid with his stern eyes and grey beard gazed out into the sky from his tower. The small land mass the tower was build on was surround by an aurora like cloud cover. The stars were twinkling peacefully as they were supposed to. Each stars represented a world and few stars represented an individual person. He could not help but to notice one of those starts was zipping around the sky randomly and without cause. He realized this was probably someone messing a Star Shard though he was not sure who.

There was one thing he was sure of, however. Whoever it was, was the same person who had entered the Realm of Light earlier that day.

**Pieces**

In the throne room of a gray stone castle sat a sorceress. This sorceress known as Maleficent was waiting on one of her servants to report back. Her amber eyes that stood out against her pale green skin looked down as Pete entered pattered and bruised. He was an overweight anthropomorphic black furred cat wearing overalls with large pockets with a red shirt underneath. On his shoulders were a set of metal guards and on hands fingerless gloves.

His outfit had been heavily damaged by the girl who stood next to him. She was a dark blue haired girl wearing a black hoodie and blue jeans. Among the blue were purple highlights here and there. He hands were stuff in the front pocket before she pulled them out and bowed respectfully. "Good evening, Lady Maleficent. I am Rayn Brandt." Rayn looked at Maleficent and smiled. "I came here looking for job."

"Do I look like an employment agency?" The witch asked. "Why would I allow you, a mere child, to serve me?"

"As the old saying goes 'fight fire with fire.' Or in this case…" Rayn held her left hand. In a flash of black sparks her weapon, a Keyblade, appeared. Hers had a black hilt with raven feathers around it. The shaft was a thick blade colored dark gray at the back and slowly shifting into a dark blue. The "teeth" of the weapon consisted of two horns similar to Maleficent's. "See what I'm getting at."

"I believe, I do." Maleficent purred. "However, that Keyblade alone does not convince me of your worth."

"Understandable." Rayn said spinning the weapon around. "That's why I've prepared a little something just for you." A dark swirling portal appeared next to her and Pete. A bizarre looking creature fell out of it head first in rather comical fashion. Its head was a large elongated skull drastically disproportionate to the rest of its body with a huge under bite and fangs on its lower jaw. Its blue arms, which had red claws on its hands, tried to push it up but were beaten by gravity.

"What is that abomination?" Maleficent watched as the creature scraped across the floor dragging its head. Pete laughed at its pathetic attempt of movement.

Rayn stepped on its back stopping whatever movement it had. "As you can see, it's an utter failure created by an experiment of mine."

Maleficent was intrigued. "And what kind of experiment was this?"

"A fusion of Heartless. My Master hypothesized that if two people could combine their abilities through limits, two Heartless could be fused together as one." Rayn pulled out a laptop, projector, and projector screen from her large hoodie pocket. Pete looked in wonder as she pulled out far more than what should have fit in the pocket. She tapped a few keys on her computer and the projector revealed images and graphs focused on the Heartless. "Based on data gathered on various Heartless, a slew of experiments and sleepless nights of observations, combined with a few illegal events, he came to the conclusion it should be possible to fuse two or more Heartless together to create an more an powerful one. However, we were running on limited resources and very impatient funders so, this…" She pointed the Heartless that was dragging itself across the floor. "…was the best we could produce."

"And just why have you come to me for assistance?"

"Simple really." Rayn returned her equipment to her pocket. "Heartless are few and far in between where I'm from. But you have a vast army of them under your control. Allow me to use them for my work and you'll get what you've striving for these past ten years: Kingdom Hearts."

The look Maleficent's eye proved her intrigue. "Of course that won't be the only reward from our business venture. You see where I'm from power sits at tips of everyday people's fingertips. Abilities that make one's life much easier. I want to go beyond covering worlds in darkness. Let's look to a greater goal shall we: universal domination."

The power hungry look that Maleficent wore grew with excited. For years she had been thwarted by Sora and the Keyblade. Now, the same weapon that had kept her from her ambitions was right in front of her giving itself away to her. She could not turn down such an opportunity. That is why she looked at Rayn with a frightful glee.

Over one year ago, she had tempted Riku with power. However as she, Sora, and Kairi would soon learn, the power of temptation far surpasses that of any weapon.

**Pieces**

"This," Maria sat on a skyscraper overlooking a large city. She was slightly trembling but not from the chilled air of night. It was the city itself that scared her. More specifically it was the condition it was in. The lights glowed bright preventing the stars from being seen. Down on the streets she could floods of people busily headed to their home or spending time with their loved ones. Standing out among that was what appeared to be a zebra talking with a police horse.

There was one thing that let her know something was definitely wrong. Out on the bay of the city stood a copper statue turned green with time. On its head wore a crown of sorts and in its arms were a torch held high and a copper tablet with date July fourth, 1776 inscribed on it. "…is impossible."

Maria stepped back and looked at the details of the city. A plot of land that was the site of a terrorist attack. A zoo that animals could escape from. A subway station that was beyond what one would call busy. All were familiar yet foreign to her. One thing she was positive of was a fact about the statue. The last time she saw it, it had no head. "Is this really, my New York City?"

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><p><strong><em>Hey you, yeah, you behind the screen. This is the part where click the button that says "review." So do me and yourself a favor by clicking th<em>****_at button writing review. Subscribe while your at it._**

**_See Ya!_**


	2. Eight

To those who care: I was busy with school so it took about four months to finish. So, yeah. Enjoy.

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><p><strong>Prologue Two<strong>

"**Eight"**

"Finally!" Tidus shouted as he trekked through the jungle of the play island with Sora, Kairi, Riku, Wakka and Selphie. All of them had a duffle bag across their shoulder. "After all those awesome stories you told us, we actually get to see where some of them actually happened!"

Riku, who was at the front, turned around and looked at his friend. "Tidus, we're going on business, not a social visit."

"You three can do all the business you want," Wakka said. "We've got sightseeing to do."

"Fine, just don't cause any trouble." Riku said as they came to a clearing in the jungle. The night of the flying building let Sora, Riku, and Kairi make a quick decision to visit Yen Sid in Twilight Town. The other three just decided to tag along.

In jungle clearing sat the Gummi ship_Highwind_. The ship was colored red and blue with the cockpit resting in its frontal cone shaped nose. It was the ship Sora had traveled in during his previous journey to save the worlds and fight the Heartless. Looking at the ship, Sora found himself recalling all the adventures he had had with the Royal Court Magician and Captain of the Royal Knights of Disney Castle. Their King and a Keyblade Master, Mickey, had given Sora and Riku the ship in case they ever wanted to travel the worlds again.

Pulling out a small device, Sora opened the main hatch on the cockpit. A ramp folded out to the ground allowing Sora and his friends to climb on board. The cockpit was just like Sora had left it a few months ago. Three silver chairs sat in the shape a triangle with one closest to the dash board filled lights.

"Captain Tidus," he said landing in the lead chair, "reporting for duty._Highwind_ready to take off as soon as I find out which one of these buttons is the ON switch."

"Move." Riku shoved Tidus out of the way without second thought. "The day I let you fly is the day Maleficent stops being evil. Call when that happens and we'll talk."

"Hey, speaking of Maleficent, do think that girl from yesterday was working for her?" Kairi asked, setting her bag down.

"You mean Lady Laser von Killsalot the Strong, and emphasis on _strong_." Wakka flexed to further emphasize the point. "I mean, she looks like she weighs about one hundred thirty pounds. She looks like she exercises but_ still_. Anyway it's a safe bet to assume she's not one of the good guys."

"Yeah, about that," Riku said while Sora got the ship started. "I don't think that she has anything to do with Maleficent."

"What makes you say that?" Selphie was listening while watching Sora start up the Gummi.

"Well there are plenty things actually. The most obvious was her reaction to Keyblade. She is the first person to laugh at it that I've seen. Not to mention she had no idea who we were or where she was. Also, if she was with Maleficent why didn't she have any Heartless with her and why didn't she use a Corridor of Darkness? It doesn't seem right to me. Normally I'd assume this was ruse to throw us off the right track, however, I couldn't smell any darkness on her whatsoever. No matter what, she should at least have trace amounts on her if she was around Maleficent." Riku stopped as he heard the engines come to life and felt the ship lift off the ground. "I'm sure she isn't on our side but, I'm not sure whose side she _is_ on."

**Pieces**

Back on Maleficent's side Rayn was stumbling around trying to keep the four boxes worth of files and information balanced in her arms. Next to her stood a muscular, brown haired man with an iron chain around his torso and shoulders with an iron ball at the end. "Anyway thanks again coming on such short notice, Roke. The new boss is up to something put me straight to work. Took me five phone calls just to get someone out here. Scheiße!" Rayn cursed in her native tongue as she tried to balance the boxes.

"Uh, you sure you don't need any help?" Roke said watching her struggle.

"Nope, I'm fine."

"Anyway, I can't exactly be picky with choosing jobs. Besides that, what did you expect trying to get people to come out here to a different dimension? I'm still confused as to how we got here," Roke said looking around the castle walls.

"What can I say? Technology is always moving forward." Rayn kicked the throne room door open and once again found herself trying to keep the boxes from falling over again. "Lady Maleficent, the type of person you wanted to see." She finally set the files down.

_Whoa,_Roke thought to himself as he saw Maleficent for the first time._I've seen strange but…_"Roke Tiller, at your service," he said politely.

"Yes, I have a task for you that needs to be completed post-haste." She waved her staff and a green mist appeared with the image of Kairi in it. "Bring this girl, Kairi, to me and feel free to eliminate anyone who gets in your way."

"Simple enough. Where is she exactly?"

"I've just received word that she is en route to Twilight Town."

"That doesn't help." He didn't know where that was.

"Here." Rayn waved her hand and a mass of black and purple swirls opened in front of Roke. She tossed him a small device. "Press the red when you need a Corridor back here."

Roke sighed, questioning whether he should have taken the job or not. Accepting the fact that beggars can't be choosers, he stepped through the portal.

"Okay then, onto our business." Rayn picked up the boxes and brought them closer to the throne. "What I have here are files of many people who would be more than interested in furthering your plans. Of course, all of them will want something in return. Some want money, others power, you know how it is. But here's what I don't get. I'm sure you have more than enough contacts here in the Realm of Light than you need. Why bother looking elsewhere for subordinates?"

Maleficent scowled at Rayn. "Don't push your luck child. If I were interested telling you that, I would have told you by now."

"I suppose you would have."

**Pieces**

"Hungry…" Maria muttered walking through a dense jungle. She pulled the Star Sharp out of her hat and gave it a glance over. "What is this thing, a time machine?" she asked out loud, seeing no sign of civilization. At that moment ten monkey like Heartless appeared in front of her. Five were blue with large front paws. The rest had ribbons on their heads and slingshots. "Food!" Maria shouted not hesitating to attack.

Her foot was encased in a translucent magenta orb. The orb extended in outward and formed an extension of her leg that swept the Heartless in an instant. Much to Maria's disappointment the Heartless disappeared before they could become her meal.

"What the hell?" she said in confusion. "I can't survive on fruit and even if I could go to New York again I don't have any money. I need some protein from somewhere. Gorilla meat can't be eaten raw and I can't cook it properly. God, I wish Cain was here." Maria smiled when she thought about her friend and rested against a tree. "That guy would never let me eat monkeys. They all probably think I'm dead by now. Either way I won't be able to use Vector for too much longer if I don't get some food in me."

**Pieces**

Hayner, Olette, and Pence sat around in their "usual spot" as they called it even though it cold on that late December day. "I've got a question," Pence said not getting up from the crate he was on.

"What?" the leader of the group, Hayner, replied.

"I can understand spring and summer even fall but, why are we out here in winter?" He asked.

"That's a good question," Olette the only female of the group verified.

Hayner thought about the matter for a moment and came to a conclusion. "Because it's our 'usual spot.' Not the 'seventy-five percent of the of time spot.' If it was called that we'd be here seventy-five percent of the time. But it's not. It's the 'usual spot' because when it's us, we hang out here_usually_. Meaning that if didn't hang usually it wouldn't be our 'usual spot.' But we do hang out here_usually_, thus it is our 'usual spot.' And because it is our 'usual spot' we hang out here even now."

The only reaction to Hayner's so called logic were the blank and confused stares of his companions. Then Olette had an idea. "Why don't we turn the old mansion into our 'winter usual spot'?" She suggested.

Gears immediately started turning in Hayner's head recalling the abandoned mansion in the forest just outside the town. In truth, Ansem the Wise had used it to plot against Organization XIII but no one was sure what had become of him after he attempted to digitize Kingdom Hearts. The mansion had been sitting there doing nothing for months now.

"Then let's get started." Hayner immediately marched out of the drape that separated the "usual spot" from the snow covered ally. "First we need to get a TV."

"Where are we going to get a TV?" Olette asked stepping out into the snow.

"More importantly, where are we gonna get power for the TV?" Pence added.

"Do you not recall the huge computer and pods and stuff down in the basement? There's got to be a power line somewhere." Another thought hit Hayner. "Hey we might even get internet in there."

"Get internet where?" Hayner turned around and saw Sora's head poking out of the usual spot and giving a grin. Sora and his friends from Destiny Islands came outside and greeted the locals happily for about a minute. Then they realized something. It was about thirty degrees Fahrenheit and they were dressed for the tropics.

**Pieces**

After buying and changing into more suitable clothing for the weather, Sora found himself and his friends hanging around a small outdoor café in town. The area was covered in snow and glittered in sun. Sora and the others from Destiny Island thought that the town was almost inhospitable due to the cold. "I wanna go home," Selphie said, shivering despite her big new coat.

"Don't start complaining now," Riku said. "You wanted to come so badly, now you're here."

"Besides, look at how much fun Tidus and Wakka are having." Sora pointed outward to the snowball fight Tidus and Wakka were engaged in. "Anyway we still need to see Yen Sid."

"Speaking of which," Hayner began. "Where does this guy even live? I've never seen him before and, believe me, we've looked."

"Yeah, for three weeks straight," Pence added. "Nothing."

"We even took shifts waiting for the ghost train to show up at the station," Olette finished.

"Well he doesn't just send the train out on whims," Sora said. "He seems to like his privacy.

"Oh, so Keyblade bearers can just drop in whenever they want to. That's discrimination," Hayner complained.

"It wouldn't have hurt to send a letter or something saying we were coming," Sora said to Riku.

"Do you know his address?"

"No."

"Well then."

"So, Kairi, you've been pretty quiet," Selphie said quietly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Just thinking about some things."

"Excuse me." Kairi looked up from her hot chocolate and saw Roke in deep brown coat. "Are you Kairi?"

"Uh, yes."

"My name is Roke Tiller. I have been commissioned by the sorceress Maleficent to bring you to her castle in exchange for a large sum of money. Come peacefully and no one will be harmed." All of this was said in a polite and formal tone.

After a silence Riku stood up. "Like that's gonna happen." Riku summoned his Keyblade and Sora followed. They stood in front of Kairi prepared for a fight. "It's faint, but this guy was definitely around Maleficent."

"I asked nicely." Roke unwrapped the chains from around his body. A blue light coursed across the chains and engulfed the ball as they expanded. Each link became large enough for him to fit a hand through. He let the ball, now over half his height in diameter, drop to the ground moving snow and leaving cracks in the pavement. "The peaceful option is still open."

"She just doesn't learn," Sora said readying an attack with a grim look on his face. "He seems like a nice guy though. A whack or two oughta do it."

"Sora, wait a minute." Roxas appeared in a golden aura and stood next to him. "This guy is calm, too calm. Something doesn't seem right about him. It's that same feeling I felt from Maria."

"You worry too much." Sora charged at Roke who only sighed. The Keyblade was swung but forcefully curved upward above Roke's head. Roke grabbed Sora by the head and slammed him into the ground creating even more damage than the ball had. Sora yelled in pain as he was lifted back up and thrown back crashing into Riku who was caught up in the force and flung into the café.

"Sora! Riku!" Kairi shouted over cries of scared civilians.

Roke walked over to Kairi dragging the ball behind him with the chain. "No civilians will be harmed…intentionally. Though, I do recommend leaving the combat zone." Roke turned around as he felt a snowball hit him in the back. Tidus and Wakka began hurling more snowballs but all of them went wide. Roke swung the massive chain and sent his ball in a huge arc. Though the ball didn't hit, Tidus and Wakka found themselves flung into the air and landed in the snow as the ball returned to its owner.

"Now can we get going? I recorded it but, I really want to get home to see my favorite TV show," Roke said earnestly to Kairi. In response Destiny's Embrace flashed into her hands. "Are Keyblades just normal around here?"

Pence and Hayner charged with metal pipes that had fallen out of the building when Sora and Riku flew through it. Pence's was tossed aside. Hayner's was taken, effortlessly contorted into a dog like shaped, and handed back leaving the boy at a loss for words. "I would suggest running away."

At that moment Sora's Keyblade, set ablaze, flew out of the café. Roke jumped back landing a few feet away from Tidus and Wakka who had makeshift weapons out junk that was under the snow. Sora and Riku stepped out of the building as the Kingdom Key returned. Blood came down the side of Sora's head but he was still standing. "Riku, Kairi…"

"You're gonna use Final Form, aren't you?" Riku said relaxing his arms.

"Can I say something first?" Roxas said. "We don't even know what this guy is capable of. If we charge in guns blazing we'll have a repeat of yesterday or worse. He and that girl are connected somehow, I know it. I just need to figure it out. If I can do that we might be able to beat him without wasting energy."

After a futile effort Tidus and Wakka landed in the snow. "What's with that guy? It's like everything we threw at him just past over him.

"May I offer you some advice?" Roke said sitting on his ball. "You've seen everything I can do. I only possess one ability. Unless you count super strength. Then I have two." He sighed and stood back up. "I've played around enough. Hand her over or you will die… or at least be severely injured."

Selphie looked at Roke. "Are we sure he's a bad guy?" she asked fiddling with some wires that had come from the café.

"Don't know." Riku raised his weapon. "But he sure works for them." He charged with Sora following resulting in Roke throwing the iron ball. They both dodged Sora to the left and Riku the right. The ball changed trajectory. Rather than going straight, it chased Riku who immediately threw up a shield made of darkness. Riku flew through the air and landed on his feet moving snow out of its place. Sora had managed to get in close and extend length of the Keyblade with energy. Roke ducked and lunged forward delivering a punch to Sora's stomach sending him through the air one more.

Sora landed in front of the café and stood shakily on his feet. "Sora, are you okay?" Kairi asked with a tone of panic as she helped him up.

"I'll live," he joked with a smile. "Okay so we know that we can hit him. Now how do we get it to connect?"

"Just hit with lightning or any spell makes electricity for that matter," Selphie said holding two cables up. "Really slow moving attacks would work too."

"How do you figure that?" Tidus asked poking his head out the café where it was relatively safe.

"You guys do know how his powers work, right?" She was met with a no from all sides "Really? It's pretty obvious to me."

"Please tell us," Sora requested.

"If we believe he only has one ability, he has to be altering the streamline of your and his own attacks." She was met with a couple of 'whats'.

"Hey!" Riku shouted. "Could you guys make the strategy meeting go little bit_faster_?" he requested as he narrowly avoided an upward curved ball.

"By manipulating the streamline of solid objects he creates lift on one side of it to change the direction of force in whatever way he wants it to go in. For example when he changes his ball's trajectory, he changes the streamline to apply more pressure on one side. Newton's third law kicks in and alters the direction of force with the equal and opposite reaction. Get it?"

"_Faster_!"

"Based on what we've seen and assuming I'm right, the range of his powers extends to his body, approximately a foot long radius from his own body, and anything that's in direct contact of his body." She paused for second. "His super strength, well, you might wanna ask for his workout plan."

"So uh, what's his weakness?" Sora asked watching Roke run in midair.

"Slow moving attacks, electricity, or any energy based attacks really." Selphie held up her cables and smiled. "That's where these come in."

"I don't like the sound of that."

"I don't like my bones breaking," Riku snapped as he came to halt next to the group. He had taken a few hits but nothing serious.

"If you think huddling around Kairi to stop from me attacking will help, I can be pretty damn accurate with this thing!" Roke shouted.

"Just get me close," Selphie said.

"We're not letting her near this guy, right?" Riku whispered to Sora.

"Of course not," Sora replied. "But she made sense. Make a distraction for me."

"Hell no, it's your turn to be the decoy," Riku argued.

"Fine, just shoot a lightning spell when you see an opening." Sora moved quickly drawing attention to himself. The result was an iron ball being thrown at him.

"You realize all you have to do is hit the chain and let the electricity travel to him, right?" Taking Selphie's advice Riku fired a blue bolt of lightning at chain. Roke immediately reacted feeling the power flow through his body. Everyone cheered out loud seeing their first attack that actually connected. "Sora, let's keep hammering him."

Roke immediately threw the iron mass into the air and released the chain allowing it to serve as a lightning rod and guard him from Sora's attack. He grabbed it quickly and swung it around. Sora was hit and brought along by the chain before the ball hit a building taking down a wall. Riku sent another lightning bolt but was blocked. Roke swung the ball circling Riku a few times a blowing anyone near him away. Riku was brought up and slammed down next to Sora. The chain was uncoiled leaving Riku sprawled out next to Sora. The ball was held over his head as he prepared to deal the final blow.

"Of course _you're_ here." All heads turned to see the self proclaimed leader of the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee, Seifer, and his posse of Fuu and Rai. "Every time something weird happens around here you just have to show up."

"Trouble," Fuu said.

"Hey! Get lost, Seifer!" Hayner shouted from the café. "Can't you see we're in the middle of a fight?"

Sora and Riku immediately looked up. "What d'ya mean _we_?" Riku shouted.

"Seriously, Hayner," Pence said. "We didn't even get hit."

"And you," Seifer looked Roke right in the eyes. "Who do you think you are, swinging around wrecking balls in _my_town?"

"Please I'm just here for that girl," Roke replied pointing at Kairi.

"He's just a creepy old stalker, y'know." Rai said.

"Disgusting."

"I'm twenty-two and have a girlfriend my own age." Roke let down his iron ball, pulled out his wallet, and showed a picture of him and his girlfriend.

Seifer took the picture, crumpled it up and said flatly, "Photoshopped."

"That's it," Roke said looking at Kairi. "Come with me or I crush everyone starting with her." He pointed at Selphie who had managed to sneak up behind him.

"Hey: On a scale of one to ten, how much does this hurt?" she said before touching the two wires in her hand to his chest. He began violently convulsing as his body was used to complete a circuit. The neon sign on café lit up.

After about twenty seconds of electrocution, Roke was released. "Ha…" he said in between convulsions. "Eight…" He dropped into the snow.

"Eight was enough."

Sora and Riku stood over the unconscious man and looked down at him. "This is new," Sora said.

"What, having Selphie take out an enemy or them not disappearing when they're done?" Riku asked.

Sora thought about that for moment. "Both actually. Say, he's still alive, right?"

Selphie poked him, causing his body jolt around. "Yep."

"More importantly," Seifer began looking at the damage, "Who's gonna clean this mess up?"

"I will handle that." From around the corner plowing through the snow came a purple train decorated in yellow stars and moons. "Well done you three." Yen Sid's voice said. "Sora, Riku, there is something I wish to speak with you about. Feel free to board the train when you're ready. Bring that man with you. And Seifer, you can leave the damage done to me."

"Like I'm gonna believe a talking train." Seifer said.

"Uh, Seifer…" Rai said as he pointed at the fully repaired café.

"Feel free to come if you'd like to meet me in person."

"Yeah right," he sneered. "I'm not dealing all this magic mumbo-jumbo. Fuu, Rai, let's bounce." They left without another word.

"We may as well get going." Sora walked over and hooked his arm around Roke's. He couldn't lift the guy. "A little help here?"

**Pieces**

"You want to bring in _all_ these guys?" Rayn asked looking at the eight stacks of files in front of her.

"Of course not," Maleficent said in an unpleasant tone. "Each stack contains people who could fulfill a role that I need filled. I simply need to narrow it down to one per stack. Any suggestions?"

Rayn thought for moment. "Well, your plan for moving your entire castle plus the renovations you're letting me make for my research require equipment I don't have and money I cannot produce. The way I figure it, send them all in to get it without telling anyone about the others…"

"…and the ones who return alive get the positions." Maleficent cackled. "Get right on that. I want this finished within a week."

"Wait a minute. I thought _Pete_ was the secretary," Rayn whined

**Pieces**

"He's… heavy," Hayner grunted as the group reached the top of Yen Sid's tower. He, Pence, Tidus and Wakka had volunteered for the daunting task of carrying the unconscious Roke up the staircase. The interior of the tower was mostly stairways with a few landings here and there. "He has a magic train that runs on magic tracks that lead to a magic island on magic clouds. You're trying to tell he couldn't install a magic elevator?"

"Oh please," Olette said smacking the winded Hayner on the back. "You two needed the exercise."

The door to the study opened and, in it Yen Sid stood staring down at the group of youths. He waved his hand and Roke lifted out of the arms of those carrying him. "Welcome, Master Sora, Master Riku, Princess Kairi and company. I trust you've been well since the last time we met." He walked back into his study and gestured for his guests to follow. Roke floated in behind him.

"Hanging out on the beach in the warmth of the sun. I'd say we've had pretty nice time since we beat Xehanort," Sora said with a smile.

"Good." Yen Sid returned the smile. He set Roke in a corner and sat behind his desk. "However, as I am sure you have realized, Maleficent is becoming active again. It would seem that she has begun targeting the Princesses of Heart once again. This man is first of what will no doubt be a multitude of enemies.

"I have another concern about this matter, though. It is of the origin of this man. Have any of you ever heard of the Realm of Dawn?" They all stared or shook their heads no. "Legend has it that our Realms of Light and Darkness originated from the event known as the Keyblade War. Though the story is common, the exact details of the event have been long lost. There is a high possibility that it may have taken place in the Realm of Dawn."

"Okay, that's interesting and all," Riku said. "But what does it have to do with big guy over there?"

"Within the past two days, three beings have entered the Realm of Light. This man was one of them."

"Wait a minute. Is it possible that Vanitas went there after Ventus defeated him?" Sora asked immediately.

"Why do you ask?" Yen Sid inquired.

"Yesterday, I tried to find Vanitas so that we could fully restore Ventus. I found him but, he was…being held captive in some other guy's heart. On my way there, it felt like my spirit left the Realm of Light and went somewhere else. I'm sure it wasn't Realm of Darkness but it definitely wasn't the Realm of Light."

"This boy, did you see what he looks like?" Yen Sid demanded more than he asked.

"Uh, dark skin, black dreadlocks, about five-nine, he was about my age."

"Kinda like this guy." Tidus cut in and held out a wanted poster with the words "Wanted: Jacob Marshall: Dead or Alive: 120,000,000 munny reward." A picture of him smiling and being surrounded by armed soldiers and black energy was on the poster.

"That's definitely him!" Sora exclaimed taking the poster. "Where'd you get this?"

"It fell out of that guy's pocket when we dropped him," Tidus said pointing at Roke. "This and like ten other ones."

"Well what's he doing with these?" Kairi asked looking at the images.

"Two reasons actually," Roke stood alive and well from his sleep. "First of all I'm a bounty hunter. Second, I want these guys for particular reasons. Truly none of your business."

"When did you wake up?" Wakka asked.

"When I was_dropped_." Roke rubbed the back of head checking to see if there was a bump. "Anyway, it we have something common. Both of us may end up targeting Black Phoenix."

"Black Phoenix, what's that?" Riku asked.

Roke tried to move forward but found two Keyblades blocked his path. "I just want the posters." He said. Tidus handed the stack but Sora kept Jacob's. "Black Phoenix is organization that runs drugs, guns, and anything else illegal from point A to point B. This is the leader."

Roke held out a poster that had the name and image of Felix Hunter on it. His hair was long, brown, and spiky and he had a well toned body. "His eyes are pink!" Tidus pointed out laughing. "How dangerous could a guy with pink eyes be?" Roke moved his finger to the reward: 400,000,000 munny. "Damn…"

"How does a delivery boy get 400,000,000 put on his head?" Pence asked.

"If he just delivered things, he would be deemed a minor nuisance in the grand scheme of things," Roke said looking at the poster. "However, when you wreck cities, erase military bases from the map, turn entire planets into wastelands, free bioengineered animals into the wild, and have a body count to match, the heat gets turned on. I have personal reasons for wanting their heads but need resources that require money to get."

"Which is why you came after me?" Kairi asked.

"I was getting paid. However, I'm a smart man. I know when I better off changing sides. You want Jacob Marshall for this Vanities person. I know where Black Phoenix's base of operations is. Us working together is mutually beneficial." There was a silence. "Not biting. Okay, what if I told you Maleficent has a Keyblade Master working for her." The entire room was obviously taken with those words. "Now I got your attention. Her legal name is Raynor von Brandt but, she goes by Rayn Brandt. Her Master was being held captive and forced to experiment on the creatures known as the Heartless in exchange for the safety of his fiancé. Even then, he trained Rayn to destroy the research he had done.

"But something isn't quite right about her. Rumor has it, that after she passed her Mark of Mastery, she killed her Master under orders from the ones who forced him to perform the research. After that she slaughtered the entire organization. The official report states that she killed them out of self defense but, I know from experience she doesn't need an excuse to wreak havoc." Roke paused. "I could tell you more but, I want to be certain that we're on the same side."

"Could you step into that room over there?" Yen Sid requested of Roke pointed to door on the other side of the study. He went without question and left the posters on the desk. "What do you think?"

"I think we can trust him," Kairi said without any restraint.

"He tried to kidnap you," Sora reminded.

"Yeah, but he was polite about it. And it's not like he's loyal to Maleficent. What about you Riku?"

"I don't think he's against us personally," Riku admitted. "At the very least, we need to watch him. If he has information on what Maleficent's scheme is this time we need to know what it is. Besides even if it's an off chance he knows where Vanitas is, he's our only lead right now."

"Okay I'm sorry but seriously," Tidus chuckled looking at Felix's poster. "His eyes are_hot pink_. How dangerous could he be?"

"Have we ever told you about Marluxia?"

**Pieces**

"Yo, Jake, you know this guy?" Felix asked looking at the pink haired Marluxia. They stood in the snowy street of the city having horns honked at them for blocking traffic.

"Get the fuck out of the fucking road, you goddamn brats!"

"I know of him," Jake said sitting on his motorcycle. "Thought he was dead."

"Pink haired fag versus pink eyed fag! Caw!" the crow resting on Felix's head said.

"Shut it, Huginn!" Felix shouted.

"I'd love to watch the adventures of dumb and bird but, I have more important things to do, such as resurrecting a certain demon," Marluxia said opening a Corridor. "A parting gift." Marluxia disappeared and in his place appeared a multitude of Nobodies that appeared to wear gray draping cloaks and have scythes for hands.

"Bitch, runnin' away," Felix said putting his fists up. "Whatever, I just had full course meal. I'm ready to fight with a bunch o'...say what the fuck are these things anyway?"

"There called 'Nobodies.' I'll explain later." Jake got off his bike. Darkness poured from his hands and took the shape of a saxophone. "Let's take care of these things before he gets himself killed. I've some questions for that bastard. There's no way it was a coincidence he came today."

* * *

><p>Finished. Review and all that good stuff<p>

See Ya!


	3. Sure

****_**Well, I have nothing to say...**_

* * *

><p><em><em>**Prologue Three**

"**Sure…"**

"Okay let's recap." Sora said enjoying his hot chocolate. He, Riku, Kairi, and Roke were sitting in chairs made by Yen Sid. Everyone else was in the next room chatting about things. "This Rayn person, came to the Realm of Light, started working for Maleficent, and brought you here to capture Kairi. Meanwhile, Maleficent is building some kind of personal guard to do her bidding as well as an army of Heartless. You also know where Vanitas is in the Realm of Dawn. Your plan is storm Maleficent's castle, stop her plan, take the portal to Realm of Dawn, have us help you defeat Black Phoenix and capture Vanitas."

"In a nutshell." Roke replied. "Don't see why you need Marshall alive though."

"We have our reasons."

"Here's my question." Riku said. "Why should we trust you? You kinda attacked us a couple hours ago."

"Which in my opinion is water under the bridge." Roke lacked hesitation. "At any rate, even if you get to the Realm of Dawn, you'll have no way of transportation. And even if you did assuming you knew where you were going, the two of you alone aren't nearly enough to take on Black Phoenix."

"And what makes you so sure of that." Kairi spoke up confidently. "If they can beat someone like Xehanort, these guys won't stand a chance."

"This Xehanort person sounds like he was the man to beat around here." Roke said calmly. "However, how much of a chance would you stand against ten people of that level? Each member of Black Phoenix is monstrously powerful in their own way. To make matters worse they're all about your age meaning they can still get stronger. One magic user and nine Access three of whom have S-class Pieces." Roke paused. "Now that I think about, you guys don't know what Pieces are, do you?"

"Know we do not." Yen Sid said. "Would you care to explain?"

"Well for starters, you should know that there are people like you, who can use magic of their free will without a manadrive. Access, such as me, are a different breed of human." He held out his hand and let out a blue lightning like energy that jumped from finger to finger. "This energy is known as PT, short for Piece Trigger. All Access naturally generate PT as a byproduct of natural functions of the body all working in unison. This energy is run through the brain and parts of the body to form abilities know as Pieces.

"The thing is, the ability you get is completely unique, written into the sum of your DNA. These abilities are classed based on destructive power from D at the bottom to S at very top. Of course these classes are given at birth. A person can raise the strength and class of their ability by using it more and more and pushing to farthest stretches of it capability. That being said, there are quite few people with D-class Pieces who could destroy S-classes in battle. Of course there's always the factor of the Access themselves. An excellent fighter can make one ability do countless things. For example, the hallmark of a good flame user is the skill to generate wind from the heat.

"Oh, here's the best part. Using Pieces frequently, causes the body produce more PT. Of course excess PT is generated. That PT seeps into the cells. The cells then become stronger than before. Super strength, high endurance, better immune systems, extended life spans, these are just a few advantages of the process known as cell charging."

"And we're supposed to believe this sci-fi stuff?" Riku questioned.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but, your weapons of choice are giant keys." Roke pointed out simply.

"I have one question." Yen Sid said. "What are the chances of another Access entering the Realm of Light?"

"In terms of population, ninety-two out of hundred."

"You think that girl was Access too?" Riku asked.

"I see no reason not to." Yen Sid said sternly.

"I don't know who you're talking about but, I must admit, I'm not interested." Roke said in his usual formal tone. "What I'd like to know is, are we in business or not?"

Sora looked at Yen Sid expecting an answer. "Sora, I believe this your decision."

"I don't know. How can we be sure you're telling the truth?"

"Okay, then…" Roke began. "I'll tell you the city their base of operations is in a city called Daltus."

**Pieces**

"Don't these things know when to quit?" Jake said calmly. The snow covered city was filled with Nobodies as well as a few Heartless. Controlling that particular area of them was a man in Marluxia's employment. He was slender with brown hair and was dressed for Daltus's winter. He floated watching Jake and Felix fight off the Reaper Nobodies under his controlled. "Felix, think you can take this guy for me? I need to chase down Marluxia before he wakes that thing up."

"For you?" Felix said as he punched one of the Reapers. That Nobody flew into a few more sending them all crashing into a building. "I was plannin' to take the bastard myself anyway. Tell the scythe bitch I said 'hi' while you're at it."

Jake hopped on his motorcycle and sped off running over anything that stood in his way. Marluxia's henchman fired an orb of flames at him but missed destroying some of his own troops. "Damn…" He muttered. "You shouldn't have let your friend go like that. It will cost you dearly."

"What? Interesting conversation? That's why they invented Bluetooth." Felix remarked launching more Nobodies. "All I gotta do is kill you and these fuckers'll go away, right?" Felix charged through the Reapers sending them flying as he threw punches to clear a path. When got a ways through, he jumped and threw punch directly at the man's face. The punch was blocked by honeycomb shaped reflect spell and sent Felix flying backwards with the force of his own fist. He crashed into a building which the man proceeded to blast with an intense fire spell causing it to collapse in the flames.

"Is that really the best you can do?" The man mocked. The top half of the build then flew at him. He quickly flew out of the way avoiding what would have certain death. In utter shock and fear, he watched as Felix dusted off his coat of debris.

"Man, I won't even have to use my Piece to beat ya." Felix said with a bored expression. "What's the point of a fight if I can't enjoy it? Can you even Drive?" He looked at the man for a moment before turning to punch a Nobody. "Feel free to go. I'll let Lightning and the Guardian Corp deal with you."

"Don't look down on me you damn brat!" The man shouted in pure rage. Over his head formed a huge ball of flames that melted the snow around him. Felix smirked as the orb fragmented and pieces flew around making their way towards him. Felix jumped and his hands lit up a magenta color. He spun and flipped in mid-air avoiding the flames with ease and quickly getting right in the man's face.

Felix promptly delivered an uppercut knocking a few teeth out and sending the man high into the air. He dropped to the ground then jumped straight up to the man's height leaving cracks in the ground. "The first to lose his cool is the first to die." He said as delivered a downward punch that sent him crashing into building. Felix landed as the building began collapse. "Have fun in hell." He mocked.

He began to walk away from the scene without any further thought. His boots sloshed in the melted snow as flame roared in the among the city's buildings. "Oh, wow…" He said as raised his hands with thumb, index and middle fingers extended. At that moment a woman spring with a sword poised to kill. "Fuck, wrong signal." He said as she was quickly gunned down.

**Pieces**

"This Isabel Sanchez." Roke said holding a poster. The image of a girl with short orange hair taking aim with a Barrett M82A1M sniper rifle was on it. "Felix Hunter's second in command and sniper. Most people know her as the 'Latin Devil,' 'The Walking Amory,' or that psycho girl with guns."

"Okay, I gotta where 'Walking Armory' came from." Riku said looking at the poster noticing that Isabel was rather short when compared to the gun.

"Well, her clothes contain the same technology to make sub-space pockets." Everyone except Yen Sid raised an eyebrow. "Basically it creates more space in a sub-dimension. She uses that to store enough firearms, explosives, etcetera to arm a decent sized militia. Rumor has it she carries a nuke with her."

"I'm still not convinced we can trust you." Sora admitted.

"Since when did you actually start distrusting people?" Riku asked.

"It's not that," Sora answered. "It's just that anything Maleficent has been involved has never really gone over well."

"So it all comes back her." Roke noted. "If she's the 'Queen of all Evil,' is there some kind of 'King of all Good' I can talk to? No offensive but you're a little bit too indecisive."

**Pieces**

The only king Sora could think of at the moment was the mouse king Disney Castle, Mickey Mouse. After Xehanort's defeat he had taken to ruling his kingdom once more. Recently he had been occupied with finding a way to defeat Maleficent for good but had to deal with diplomatic matters as well. Worlds like Radiant Garden who were aware of the fact that there were other worlds had taken an interest in inter-world relations. Walking down the white halls of his castle was the prime minister of Radiant Garden, Dick Stalwart.

At the present moment Mickey's mind was occupied not with Stalwart but with an intruder. So far no damage been done to castle or its occupants but it was still troubling. "Really, I'm sorry about this. A simple meeting shouldn't have broken down like this."

"Don't worry about," the prime minister said. He stroked his beard that was graying with age. "The ones to be blamed are Xehanort and his cohorts. If it weren't for him Maleficent wouldn't have this kind power."

"That's the problem." Mickey said as they came to the huge doors of his throne room. He held up his and signaled for the doors to open revealing the long red carpet that led to the royal throne. "Maleficent shouldn't be able to do this."

"What do mean?" Stalwart asked following Mickey in throne room. Suddenly the castle entire shook with a crash. "What was that!"

"Come on!" Mickey ran to his throne and raised his hand once more. A flash immediately shone from the throne blinding Stalwart. When the light faded, Stalwart found the throne had moved back several to reveal a stair case. He followed Mickey down them to see the protector the castle, large orb with bright light swirling around it. "The Cornerstone of Light, it's just fine." Mickey said sounding surprised but relieved.

"This is the Cornerstone?" Stalwart asked in awe. He could feel the warmth of the light radiating from the orb. He slowly walked towards mesmerized by the light it emitted. It felt it calling to him to come closer.

"Well, Prime Minister, I have good news and bad news." Mickey's word snapped Stalwart out his trance. "The good news is as long as the Cornerstone is safe, neither Maleficent nor the Heartless can come into Disney Castle."

"And the bad news?"

"I have no idea who's attacking." The King admitted. At that moment the two heard a series of thuds. The Captain of the Royal Knights, Goofy, and the Royal Court Magician, Donald, came tumbling down the steps followed by the Turks Reno and Rude who'd been assigned to guard Prime Minister Stalwart. "Are you guys alright?" Mickey asked immediately.

"Gawrsh, your Majesty, we're fine." Goofy said standing up. "All she did was pluck a few hairs."

"You mean feathers." Donald said rubbing his rump.

"Still hurt. And she took my rod." Reno stood up and dusted off his slovenly worn suit. His red hair was tied in a pony and a pair of goggles rested on his forehead. He helped Rude, a bald man with a thin beard around mouth.

"Oh, would you stop whining." The footsteps of heels came down into the Hall of the Cornerstone. Down the stairs walked a tall Indian woman with a long black braid wearing a lab coat. "All I wanted were samples for DNA. And here's your toy back." She tossed the electric rod to Reno. He inspected it, making sure it hadn't been tempered with. "Oh please, if I tried fiddling with that thing, I'd electrocute myself but, where are my manners. Dr. Agrima Jhevari at your service. Sorry barging in like this but I don't the patience to wait for an appointment."

Stalwart gritted his teeth. "What are you two just standing there for? Capture her!"

"No need to shout." Reno said calmy. Before Reno even could even raise his weapon, it was swatted out of his hand with the sound of metal clashing. A cold sweat of broke out on his face as the red blade of a scythe was in his face. Listening to clatter of it hitting the ground, Reno found his rod was far out of his reach.

"Sorry about that. See, I was quite the delinquent before college. Cleaned up my act and got a PhD." Dr Jhevari said with a smile. "Of course, old habits die hard. I simply don't like being threatened is all. But believe me. I'm in no way out practice. If I wanted to I could slaughter you and your bald friend over there and destroy this castle quite easily, but in the long run that would cause me quite a bit of trouble." She stopped when Rude attempted to grabbed her free arm. She let go of her scythe leaving it in mid air revealing a chain going into her coat that was attached to it. Dr Jhevari struck Rude multiple times at high speed with PT charged hands. Rude collapsed as she reclaimed her weapon.

"What did you do…?" Rude grunted from the floor.

"I simply used my PT to block your nervous system from sending voluntary commands to your muscles. Your body should be quite numb since it works both ways. Impulses can't go to or from your brain. Look at this way: I could have hit your pain receptors while I was at it and locked that in." Dr. Jhevari looked at Mickey who had his own Keyblade ready. It was similar to Sora's Kingdom Key but seemed to be polarized. Donald and Goofy each had their weapons, a staff and shield respectively, ready as well. "Why does everyone here seem to think I came here for a fight?"

"Well first starters…" Donald was cut off by his king.

"If you're not here for a fight than why are you here." Mickey demanded. "You have no right to barge in here like this."

"Well, looks like we're ready to talk." The doctor said as she set her scythe on her shoulder. With her left hand, she reached into her pocket and pulled a CD which she handed to Reno. "Now, give it to his Majesty." Reno handed it to Mickey who immediately went wide eyed. On the cover was a former member of Organization XIII, Demyx. "About four months ago eleven beings were spat of Kingdom Hearts onto the grounds of Sera Castle. Currently we know the locations of seven of them. The others have kept their heads down."

"Wait a minute just who are 'we' and what do you have to do with Kingdom Hearts?" Stalwart asked.

Dr. Jhevari thought for second before answering. "This world we live in is constantly progressing, changing, and advancing. It needs to. However, a certain balance must be maintained. The countless factions that exist trying to gain power have to be controlled to some degree. An example of when this balance was disrupted in what you call the Keyblade War. From that war spawned what became known as Kingdom Hearts. Currently that balance has been drastically shifted. As you saw with the destruction of Xehanort's Heartless, the amount of light far exceeds the darkness. Eventually that darkness will be snuffed out."

"And this is bad how?" Stalwart spoke. "For twelve years we've been plagued by the darkness. And you think you can show up and tell that we should let it be. Do you realize how many lives have been lost or ruined by it? We need to find a way to make sure it happens."

"Tell me something. Do you realize what will happen when the darkness is destroyed from Kingdom Hearts?" Stalwart didn't. "First of all, you'll simply have eliminated the darkness of Kingdom Hearts. The rest will still exist all the same. More importantly, the result will be far worse than anything the darkness has caused. For starters, Kingdom Hearts will explode.

"The Realm of Dawn, where I come from, will suffer the longest. The direct result will be massive amounts of destruction from the blast alone will destroy at least an entire galaxy killing everyone in it. Then we have the magical fallout to worry about. People will consumed by light and become beings we know as the Blinded. With those monsters running around no one will be safe in their own home. Looting and the like will become rampant. There are also the Nobodies to deal with and, let me tell you, there are quite a few already dangerous people who will become like Organization XIII. Put simply, it's very bad news."

"The Realm of Light, what will happen to it?" Mickey asked.

The doctor sighed and looked Mickey dead in the eyes. "Without Kingdom Hearts supporting them, the Realms of Light and Darkness will collapse in on themselves and cease to exist. That's why Zero Scale exists, to prevent such a catastrophe from happening. And that's why I'm here.

"Truth be told, I consider you to be an intellectual equal, King Mickey, having discovered the properties of the Gummi Blocks. Quite a few people agree with that. It was thanks to your research that we were to travel here instead of simply viewing you from afar. That among other things is why you've been chosen to join Zero Scale. As for you Prime Minister Stalwart, I can't help but to wonder why Ansem chose you to be his second in command in the first place. I can understand wanting someone to help you run a kingdom but wow." She said mockingly. She turned on her heel and began up the stairs. "Well, your Majesty, I'll be back in about a month to hear your answer. Until then."

"Wait!" Mickey shouted. "How do we know you're telling truth about all this? You could be working for Maleficent for all we know. And also, when will this man be able to move again?"

"Yes, well, in that case is a disk containing all types of information about the Realm of Dawn. There are even instructions for building a portal to get there. As for your friend, the paralysis should start wearing off in a minute or so."

"And all that can easily fabricated." Stalwart stated.

"Yes, I figured you wouldn't bite so, how about this?" Jhevari said with a smile. "The corpses of four members of Organization XIII. I'll even put bows on them."

"Say what!" Mickey said in shock.

"Yes, well, it seems that four of the members have underestimated this scythe's successor as well as her friends."

**Pieces**

Simone stood in Daltus wearing a black, sleeveless, open long coat, a purple tank top over her large breasts that revealed her midriff and black boot cut jeans. Her snow white hair was in contrast deep brown skin but blended perfectly with the snow. Standing down the road from her, wearing his Organization coat, gloves, and boots, hood up, was Zexion.

"So you're the one controlling those things?" Simone said calmly. "To think I could be reading a book right now. Gulliver's Travels is so interesting. The way Swift makes the story enjoyable to kids and adults at the same time is brilliant. Kids at the time it was written dreamed of adventure at sea yet, the adults found themselves comparing their lives with the adventures is a genius use of satire. It kinda makes you wonders why writers don't use it in their nowadays. Sure a good fantasy novel interesting but, a story that you can relate real life requires serious skill and dedication writer's part. Hell, it even translates into TV. The reason animation lost steam in after sound came into play was because people stopped thinking it could be enjoyed by adults. How'd they fix it: why with satire. They made jokes that went over kids' heads but, the adults watching could enjoy mixed with the simple humor. Of with that came the child over protectors who thought kids could be 'scarred' by it. It's more like they feared their kids thinking differently. Y'know, it's sorta like the plot from Fahrenheit 451. People thought differently so what d'ya do. Get rid of the books. The writing was bit dry to me but, the plot was absolutely amazing. I personally find it hilariously it was on the list of banned books in the United States of America. Sorta contrasts the whole 'land of the free' thing. Can you believe they banned books like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn just because the writer used 'nigger'? What kinda bullshit is that? It had to be one the least racist books of the time it written. Of course looking at the view from people at the time of controversy, I guess I could understand seeing as the 'nigga' debate was going on around the same. But still they should look at that as part history as a racial issue. Being of African descent myself I was always in how the word 'negro' used to be an acceptable term but changed to a slur in less than a century. Hell, most variations of the word in other languages are completely neutral. The _really_ don't get is why black people can call each other 'nigga' but white people can't. It never made much sense to me." Simone paused and realized how long she'd been talking. "But that's really off topic; isn't it?"

"Are you done yet?"

"And if I'm not?" After which Simone went on for another five minutes of unfocused yammering.

"Enough…" Zexion said. In his hands the Lexicon appeared. Its grey cover opened and flipped to a page containing a powerful spell. "This will be enough to handle you." He snapped his fingers and, a large black orb appeared over him. Seeing this, Simone closed her mouth and watch calmly as the orb flew towards her engulfing a full block. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must be going." Zexion waited a moment as the darkness dissipated to insure he had won. All that was left in the area was blue tinted sphere. Everything else was indiscernible as to its original form.

The sphere crumbled and revealed Simone who had been completely unharmed but, now, she was flipping him off and had a cigarette with a strange blue smoke. She stood and simply looked at him. She smiled at the destruction, amused by Zexion's attempted attack on her. "You're too slow." She said as she thrust a knife at Zexion's neck. Zexion teleported into the air and realized he had been looking a mirage. A scythe connected to a chain rocketed up with purple flames from where the mirage was. Zexion evaded and moved to distance himself. The scythe circled around surrounding him in the air with the chain set on fire. It closed in, creating a bright flame in air among the city building. "How'd you like it, Little Boy?" She said still smiling.

When the flames ceased a large jagged crystal was left in their place. The crystal shattered and evaporated. Simone was now resting her second scythe on her shoulder leaving the other in the air and observing the landscape. She looked down and noticed a set of runes glowing on ground around. "Shit…" She muttered before the runes exploded beneath her. Launched, into the air Simone looked down and saw multiple Zexions smiling at her. Rather than fall she hopped into her scythe and stayed in the air using flames. More copies appeared around her as the chain began to coil around her. "You're wasting your time with the cheap tricks." Simone held her left hand and looked at a large building rather than the copies. "…Napoléon Folie." A large mass of ice erupted from her hand ripping apart the copies and shattering the windows of the building freezing its interior.

Zexion teleported outside and narrowly avoided being frozen. He looked around baffled as to how he was discovered so easily in the building was beginning to collapse. Simone flew at him with flames erupting from her feet and a scythe gripped in both hands. She swung hard but was dodged and met with a lightning spell. At that close range Zexion could not help but notice her eyes. The word "death" was literally written in them that the smile on her face accompanied quite well. A shiver went up Zexion's as he realized that something was severely off about Simone. However, being assaulted by a scythe prevented him from pondering the matter much further. Despite his thoughts he maintained a calm demeanor knowing that panicking would invite death.

Zexion opened his Lexicon and releasing a flurry pages that took the shape of spears. He watched as the pages were burned to ashes as he had anticipated and took the chance to distance himself from Simone. He making began observations and running possible to abilities through mind. After the events in the dream world he had arrived in the Realm of Dawn with the rest of Organization XIII. One of the first things he realized was that the best way to defeat an Access in battle was to figure out what their Piece was first. He also noticed that truly skilled warriors were cable of hiding their true ability. Though it was painfully obvious her power was heat based, pinning down the exact nature of it was quite difficult. It subtle things the average Joe wouldn't notice that gave it away. For example the air temperature around Simone dropped and rose with each move. Zexion also noticed the scythe left a trail of ice in the path swings. He paid attention to the breeze around them. He took this data into account and made a hypothesis.

To test his theory, Zexion teleported once again this time to the ground. "I'll take a page from Axel's book." He flipped open a page in the Lexicon and allowed it to float in the winter air. Flames red spewed out of it and took the shape of two huge rings. The rings flew at Simone from side either and, as Zexion had predicted, were absorbed. "Sorry, but this battle is over."

Simone rested her scythe on her shoulder and floated to the ground still smiling. "Big words coming from you." She said. "Why don't you show your face if you're so tough?"

"Because it's cold." He replied plainly. "I'm saying that you've lost because you've completely lost the ability to catch me off guard. That ability of yours is quite simple. You can freely absorb and eject heat from your body or anything within direct contact of it."

Simone held out her left hand palm outward facing Zexion and chuckled. "Fairly useless information, Fat Man." A massive blast of purple flames erupted from her hand. The road in front of her was completely engulfed in fire melting the snow instantly. She raised her eyebrow as she realized Zexion had survived unharmed. He stood at the end the charred road with another man in front of him. This one wore same Organization cloak as Zexion and had spiky red hair. Two small tattoos were under the black pits where his eyes were supposed to be. His hands held two flaming chakrams. "The hell? Who is this, some kind of zombie?"

"This man is Axel." Zexion said calmly. "Or at least a well made copy. This is my Drive, Book Maker. I'm sure you can tell just looking what it can do."

"So that's it." A flame burned intensely at the end of Simone's cigarette accelerating the rate at which it burned. "I thought there was something strange about those fire wheels. I'm guessing that book of yours lets you copy attacks and cast illusions. I don't really understand magic. Damn, I woulda called it Copy Machine; I've always been bad at naming stuff. Ya know, speaking of naming…"

"Before you begin, I believe it's best that you realize that I won't hold back." With Zexion's warning came a block of ice encasing Simone's scythe. Simone had dropped it and lunged forward propelled by flames. Her cigarette had incinerated away and her smile crept open even wider as her the second fell into her hands. The copy blocked a powerful slash with his charkrams only to be struck and sent flying by a rocket powered kick. The chain ignited freeing Simone's frozen scythe. The scythe was promptly launched at building shattered windows. A man with platinum blond hair and large blue shield that blocked the scythe stood wearing the Organization coat. Like Axel his eyes were nothing more than black pits.

Zexion smirked from his position observing from the sky. He calmly watched Simone attack patterns as she fended off the "Books" as he referred to his creations as. The main assessment that he had made was that she could detect people and people only. Zexion based this on the fact that she attacked frontally right into Vexen's shield. He noticed that there was a mental limit on Simone's attacks. From his knowledge, Pieces required mental strength to control them as well as physical strength to use them. There had been multiple openings to attack him, but none could be taken. She was fighting with a scythe in hand, controlling her free one, and using her ability all while fighting against two opponents at once. Once again he set to test his theory.

Zexion snapped his fingers and the street began surging upward knocking Simone into air. Axel threw his chakrams at her. One was deflected; the other sliced her side. Simone quickly turned as Lexeuas, another one of Zexion's "Books," appeared. Also wearing the black cloak, this man was larger than the other two and held a massive axe like sword. The man swung down hard clashing with Simone's scythe launching the girl through the window of a small convenience store.

Simone climbed out, clutching her bleeding midriff. "Tricky little son of bitch, aren't we?" She said with a devilish smile directed at Zexion. "Linking your Heart, Soul, and Body to a hundred percent and allowing you true power to take shape. That's the secret of the Drive. If I don't step my game, I won't be able to kill you." Simone's body was surrounded by a gust of frozen wind that emerged from her feet and was encased. The ice shattered leaving Simone with icy bracelets on her wrist and ankles. A choker was around her neck and her hair was tipped with ice.

Before she could move any further, Simone was attack by the man again. She counter attacked again, this time freezing her own feet in place to avoid being pushed back. Her arms were stressed to hold out against the man's massive weapon but, she wasn't helped by Axel's flaming chakrams flying at her. Rather than shifting her focus, Simone created a barrier of ice that caught the weapons and drained their flames instantly. She realized trying to overpower the man in front of her was useless. Opening her mouth she forced as much air out of her lungs as possible. She proceeded to suck in high amounts, creating a suction of ice that froze Lexaeus as well a large area behind him leaving a land locked iceberg in its wake. Simone quickly threw a kick that shattered ice as well the "Book" within.

The next decision Zexion made after the destruction of the "Book" needed to be swift. He reminded himself that he had two goals. The first was to stop Marluxia's plot to awaken an ancient demon that lay dormant within Daltus. The second was to destroy Vanitus and any trace of Xehanort that was in the city. He and Lexaeus had set out to end the legacy left behind by Xehanort leaving the man himself to be defeated by Sora. Marluxia on the other hand, decided to do what he'd been since he joined the Organization. Upon realizing that Marluxia would be there, Zexion and Lexaeus decided that now was the best time to act in the confusion of the battle. They had anticipated resistance from all fronts, but nothing this intense from single girl. Zexion realized that the rumors of Black Phoenix's strength did in fact have truth in them. He concluded that facing Simone would be a long, arduous task that required time he did have to spare and that his best option at this would be to retreat.

Zexion's thoughts were interrupted by a scythe that was flying at him. He quickly made a copy of Marluxia that deflected to scythe. Simone yanked the chain and pulled the weapon back towards herself. She twisted it over her head and changed its trajectory and released it, decapitating another Book with lances and dreadlocks. This one disappeared in a black haze. "Question." She said pulling her scythe into her hands. "Big guy and flowers up there, the real ones I mean, they're in this city right? Why don't you just call them for help?"

Zexion was taken aback by these questions. He was not sure how she knew that Lexaeus was near but he was curious. This girl was some type of monster that he couldn't describe. She was clearly enjoying herself and Zexion figured it was safe to assume that she enjoyed fighting in general. But that scared him to a degree. However, his curious was to whet to leave.

**Pieces**

Jake calmly floated in the winter air with his arms folded. In front of him, Marluxia was locked in battle with his telepathically controlled Keyblade. Jake's was design with two, black flat note symbols facing outward from the green hilt. The blade was thick and gray with two speakers on each side and a sharp symbol served as the teeth. Its keychain was tuning hammer.

Marluxia quickly broke of the Keyblade's string of attacks and rushed Jake who disappeared in a puff of darkness on contact. He turned around and found Jake holding his Keyblade with a playful smile on his face. Jake snapped his fingers and materialized a massive piano key that dropped onto Marluxia. "Now start talking. What the hell do you want to wake that thing up for? It's too powerful to be controlled and too irrational."

"That's exactly why I intend to absorb its power rather than control it." Marluxia wiped the blood from his mouth and levitated back up to Jake's height. "Was it not you fools who created to device to seal it rather than destroy it. Don't think people couldn't see through your little scheme. It's obvious you have some method of controlling it and are simply waiting for the opportune time to use. If my plan fails, I already have someone stealing that method right now."

_Actually we never bothered even trying something like. Well now I wanna see what would happen._ Jake thought. "Kay'. Let's see if you'll live long enough to confirm that."

* * *

><p>Y'know the deal, review tell me what you think.<p>

_**See Ya!**_


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